Project 2
1. Gathering Requirements – Task Analysis
1.0 Introduction
We, Team White Hats, decided to make a non-profit app that can help users address the recent issues that have been experienced by UTM Students, Staff, Lecturers, and visitors. Our goal is to improve the current services around the UTM Skudai campus, such as the bus schedule system, parking availability system, and street light problem report system. Some gadgets were also used in our application to ensure that the user could test our functions with more accurate data. The target users were chosen to ensure that our application performs properly by conducting user testing. During the testing, some similar applications were used.
1. UTM Smart
UTM Smart has embedded the UTM bus schedule timetable inside the application, so the users can check the bus departure time from the app.
2. Lugo App
As we know, the P211 bus provides its service around the UTM Skudai campus. So, the user can use an existing system which can let use as a reference, which is the Lugo App to check the public bus service provided by the Johor State Government, such as P211, the bus that fetches the students to Larkin Sentral or Terminal Taman University.
3. SpotHero
SpotHero, an app based in the US was also used as our reference, to make our application able to check for the parking availability around the UTM Skudai campus.
4. i-Tegur
i-Tegur, is an online complaint system that makes it easy for the public to report any issues related to housing and local government. It was used as it is the existing system that provides one of the functions for our application which is called UTM White Hats.
The three tasks from the existing system that we chose for observation are:
• Bus Schedule
The bus schedule will let our users know about the time of departure from one point to another.
• Number of Available Parking Slots
SpotHero app shows us the availability of parking spaces on streets that are still available to the public through live updating. The user can know and book the nearest available parking before parking the car.
• Report Made for Street Light Problem
The user of the app can make a report about street light problems like the failure to function and other problems. The report is very important to ensure that the quality of the university can be improved.
Using the results and suggestions from the three target groups, three of the tasks above will be used to determine what we can develop in our multifunction application, which is the UTM White Hats app.
2.0 Derivation of HTA
a) HTA for
Task 1 - Check the Bus Schedules
User 1: UTM Students
Steps
showing how the student uses the UTM Smart application:
1.
Open
the UTM Smart application.
2.
Create
an account or log in.
3.
Click
‘Getting Around’ on the home screen.
4.
Go to ‘Shuttle Bus’ and navigate to ‘Shuttle Schedule’.
5.
Choose
the bus you wish to use.
6. Check the schedule of the bus.
7. Close the application.
User 2: UTM Visitor
Steps showing how the visitor uses the Lugo application:
- Open the Lugo app
- Go to the assistance tab
- Then, click on “Stops around me”
- Choose the desired bus stop
- Route and time till next bus is displayed
User 3: UTM Staff / Lecturer
Steps showing how the Staff / Lecturer uses the UTM Smart & Lugo applications:
1. If the current location is out of UTM Campus, continue to Step 2. If the current location is inside UTM Campus, skip to Step 8.
2. Open
the Lugo app.
3. Go
to the Assistance Tab.
4. Click
on “Shops Around Me”.
5. Select
a desired bus stop.
6. Route
and Estimated Time of Approval (ETA) of upcoming buses will be shown.
7. Board
the arriving bus into UTM Campus, and exit the Lugo app.
8. Open
the UTM Smart app.
9. Login
into UTM Account.
10. Click
on the “Getting Around” Tab on the Home screen.
11. Select
“Shuttle Bus”, and navigate to “Shuttle Schedule”.
12. Select
a desired shuttle bus from the shuttle list.
13. Refer to the bus schedule.
14. Change the shuttle bus for other schedules if necessary.
15. Exit
the UTM Smart app.
Findings from the HTAs for Task 1 :
According to Task 1, the 1st
User uses UTM Smart, one of the platforms available for tracking the current
bus timetable, while other users track buses using the LUGO mobile application. The 1st User is a UTM student who relies
on UTM Bus Shuttle to travel from one destination to another destination, while
others which are visitors and UTM staff will use the LUGO mobile application to
search for the bus schedule from numerous bus transportation providers such as
Causeway Link, Bus Muafakat Johor, etc.
The tasks begin
by opening the mobile application for both UTM Smart and LUGO mobile
applications. In order to access shuttle bus options on the UTMSmart mobile
application, users must first navigate around the icon and scroll downwards.
Subsequently, the mobile application will have a list of current and forthcoming
bus schedules. Whereas for
LUGO mobile applications, the users can proceed to select the option that is
ETAs available and there will be a list of stations displayed together with the
bus number and services that are providing shuttle services to UTM, for
instance, P211. In addition, maps and the locations of bus stops are shown to
users in order to inform them of these locations. Other than that, there is a
list of bus services that service the off-campus locations as well as a number
of bus stops that can be found outside of campus.
In general,
the user, as an example, User 1, has acknowledged the problem regarding the
punctuality of shuttle bus services on campus, where he has observed it as one
of the main problems that should be tackled immediately, whereas User 2 and User
3, didn’t utilize the shuttle bus service provided by the University, they also
acknowledge the punctuality of the bus services that are severely not following
their respective schedule, and there are delays almost every day for the bus
service.
Based on the results of the surveys and interviews, all of them concurred that the issue of bus service punctuality, which caused annoyance to various consumers from various perspectives, needed to be further addressed by implementing an advanced mobile application system. They believe it would be better suited as an extra feature, such as the bus's real-time location, which is updated every second to address the problems. These features will holistically reduce the possibility of delays in the bus schedule and at the same time improve the punctuality of bus services.
b) HTA for Task 2 - Check the Availability of Parking Lots Around or Specific Spots
User 1: UTM Students
Steps showing how the student uses the SpotHero application:
2. Create an account or log in.
3. Search for the location of the parking.
4. Select the starting day and time and the end date and time.
5. Navigate through the map for empty parking spots.
User 2: UTM Visitor
Steps showing how the student uses the
SpotHero application:
1. Open
the SpotHero application.
2. Search
for an address or location.
3. Precise
the duration for parking and the time
4. Navigate
through the map for empty parking spots.
5.
Choose one parking spot
and book it.
User 3: UTM Staff / Lecturer
Steps showing how Staff / Lecturer uses the SpotHero application:
1. Open the SpotHero app.
2. Login into or sign up for an account or continue as Guest.
3. Click on the Search Bar, and search for an address or location.
4. Select the duration of parking for the starting time and ending time.
5. Navigate through the Map for empty parking spots.
6. Select a desired parking spot and make payment to book it.
7. If there are no parking spots available in the initial desired area, navigate back to change to a different location, and repeat Steps 5 & 6.
8. Exit the SpotHero app.
Findings from the HTAs for Task 2 :
Regarding Task 2, we can see that the first, second, and third users are
utilizing the SpotHero application to solve their respective problems, in order
to locate parking spaces near their desired destination. Although they are different users, they have
the same general requirements as drivers. Thus, it is important to have an
application to track the available parking space even though the purpose of
each user is different.
For User 1, the
student selects the desired time period for parking and checks for available
parking lots around the desired areas to help in planning to park the car at
which parking lot is nearby or between points that are convenient for them. Hence,
he does not need to move his car when he changes his mind and goes to other
places aside from the destination, thus he does not need to pay twice when
entering the parking slot.
Another case, for User
2, which is the visitor. He was trying to search for the number of available
parking spaces near the destination instead of searching for the parking slot.
He can search for streets or lots that are suitable for him to park. Meanwhile, User
3, the staff, was trying to search all the parking slots in a particular area.
After opening the app and selecting the time of parking the user can search
area by area which is easy to track and find the places where to go. By keying
in the location and time, it allows you to view all the available parking slots
together with the total number of parking spaces nearby, and users can even
compare the parking fees to find cheaper parking places.
It can be said that
Users 1 and 3 were quite similar and that they made it clear that the
issue is not only the quantity of parking spots still accessible, but also the
issue of parking spaces nearby, which will cause an issue when he tries to park
his car, whereas User 2,
found that the main problem is the number of available parking space left for
the visitor to park, especially during peak hours. Users 1, 2, and, 3 found
that to address these problems, utilizing the SpotHero application as a guide
for putting the smart parking system in place at UTM was helpful.
c) HTA for Task 3 - Make a Report of the Faulty Streetlights
User 1: UTM Students
Steps showing how the student uses the i-Tegur
application:
1.
Open on the i-Tegur application.
2.
Create an account or log in.
3.
Click ‘Cipta Aduan’.
4.
Navigate through the categories of complaints.
5.
Choose the category you want to make a complaint on.
6.
Take a picture of the complaint.
7.
Write
a description of the complaint.
8.
Choose
the location of the place.
9. Submit the complaint.
10. Close the application.
User 2: UTM Visitor
Steps showing how the student uses the i-Tegur application:
1. Open i-Tegur app.
2. Create an account or log in if you have an existing account.
3. Press “Cipta Aduan” to file a complaint.
4. Choose a complaint category.
5. Upload three photos.
6. Write a brief description.
7. Drag the map to pinpoint the location.
8. Submit the complaint.
9. Close the application.
User 3: UTM Staff / Lecturer
Steps showing how Staff / Lecturer uses the i-Tegur application:
1. Open the i-Tegur app, and switch on GPS settings.
2. Sign up for a new account or login into an existing account.
3. Click on “Cipta Aduan”.
4. Navigate through the categories of complaints.
5. Select the related category of complaint.
6. Take a picture or upload up to 3 images as proof of the complaint.
7. Provide a brief description of the complaint.
8. Select the location of the place to be complained, and change location if needed.
9. Submit the complaint.
10. Exit the i-Tegur app.
Findings from the HTAs for Task 3 :
From the requirements of Task 3, the 3 users used the i-Tegur application to make the report about a non-functional streetlight. Based on the interviews and surveys conducted, users mentioned that they were concerned about the safety of the oncoming traffic as non-functional streetlights cause the surroundings to have low visibility which may result in accidents.
The process to file a report about the non-functional streetlight to the i-Tegur application is the same process for all users. After the users logged in or created their accounts, they need to select the ‘Create Complaint’ icon. Then from the multiple types of complaints available they choose the ‘Lampu/Lampu Isyarat’ option. From there on, the users fill in the description of the issue and the location of the complaint can be selected from a map. Users also need to upload 3 related photos of the non-functional streetlight to provide further detail on the situation. This also makes sure to verify it is an issue. The i-Tegur application automatically records the date and time the complaint was made for the convenience of the users.
3.0 Design Requirements
Based on the surveys and interviews that have been conducted throughout the given time period, there are some requirements and improvements that we have noticed can become a game changer in further improvising the current system development. For instance, several amendments and improvements can be implemented in our smart campus-oriented mobile application.
To support the above explanation even more, we realized that, in order to further reduce redundancy and save on storage that may have taken up some phone storage, three of the most important pieces of content from each of these three separate mobile applications should be consolidated and contained in a single mobile application. With a more sophisticated and technologically focused user interface, this will also be able to give users a lot more smoother experience and peace of mind when they use the mobile application.
Besides that, the bus tracking system that was implemented in the LUGO mobile application will further improve the system by alerting the users when there are any delays or amendments in terms of time schedules to the users. As the majority of the users are undergraduate and postgraduate students, the bus has emerged as the most important mode of transportation for attending a lecture. This will also let users know more accurate information regarding the current bus time schedule and also at the same time be able to know the real-time location of the buses by having real-time GPS being placed in the mobile application.
Not to mention, users' privacy will also need to be carefully managed. The privacy and security of the system will also need to be taken extra care of because it consists of three distinct subsystems that will merge and work together simultaneously. To protect user data stored in the system, further security measures and procedures must be taken. For example, two-way authentication is one way we may protect the security of our mobile application while also having confidence in the users of our application.
2. Gathering Requirements – User Analysis
1.0 Proposed Tasks
Our proposed prototype is a Mobile App. There are many useful features in our proposed prototype that focus on the improvement of user experience on the services provided around the UTM Skudai campus.
a) Check the bus schedules
Users often miss the UTM bus and the public bus provided by the Johor government. Our app will display the actual Estimated Time of Arrival (ETA) and the current availability of space on the buses. This feature will enable users to plan alternative routes if they encounter issues with the bus schedule.
b) Check the availability of parking lots around or specific spot
With the return of physical classes at Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, many students are driving their own cars to campus, leading to parking issues for both students and visitors. This feature allows users to check the availability of parking spaces around them using the Global Positioning System (GPS), or they can select a specific location to see the number of available spots remaining.
c) Make a report of the faulty streetlights
This feature allows students, staff, and visitors at UTM to report failed streetlights around the UTM Skudai campus. The report will be sent to the appropriate department or contractor for repairs, ensuring the services run smoothly and do not impact traffic around UTM.
2.0 Persona
2.1 Mr. Mugilan Raja
As a result, his family allows him to bring a vehicle to the university to enhance his convenience, particularly for getting food and attending classes. However, he has encountered another concern: sometimes streetlights are not functioning at night, making it uncomfortable and unsafe to drive in the dark. As a safety-focused person, Mugilan finds this situation dangerous due to the potential for accidents. Additionally, he finds the parking situation inadequate, as the campus layout is complex and some parking areas are unfamiliar to him. Mugilan is seeking a solution to these inconveniences to ensure he can complete his studies at Universiti Teknologi Malaysia with greater ease and comfort.
2.2 Mr. Kishanlal
After a certain period in UTM, he realized he faced a lot of problems daily. Amongst these problems are the lack of parking spots as well as a clear indication of whether the spots are reserved for staff members or available to members of the public, the faulty streetlights he encountered while driving his father to campus in the middle of the night, and also inefficient bus services that make him late or reach his destination late. Mr Kishanlal has been very kind to share his insights in overcoming the aforementioned problems. He intends to come up with ideas that benefit students, staff members, and visitors alike.
2.3 Ms. Atiqah bte Shaharuddin
Like many educators, Ms. Atiqah is very concerned about the significant transportation issues that impact both students and staffs. During peak hours, the scarcity of buses exacerbates the problem for both students and staffs, whereby they often have to endure frustratingly long waiting times, which makes it impossible for her to use the busses as it will not allow her to be in her class on time. Additionally, she is also unhappy with the fact that there is no effective way to provide feedback on bus services or address issues related to bus drivers or facilities. On top of that, the available parking venues fall short of meeting the demand of the university population. Finding a parking spot can be a daily struggle, leading to stress and wasted time for her and her colleagues.
3.0 Scenarios
3.1 Persona 1 from the User Group
Persona : Mr. Mugilan, 21 years old, wants to track the bus route to make it convenient when going to face-to-face classes.
User goal : Make sure that the students can know where the bus will be going to, and the departure time at the destination from time to time.
Task :
- Open the application and log in to an account.
- Entering the shuttle bus function.
- Click the most suitable bus route with consideration of the destination.
- Get the bus route passing by and the estimated time at which the bus will arrive.
Mr. Mugilan frequently encounters difficulties getting on the bus, especially when he needs to attend class or travel elsewhere. As a student without a car, he faces challenges moving around UTM, which wastes time, causes fatigue from walking, is dangerous, and is particularly troublesome on rainy days. Therefore, the shuttle bus services provided by UTM are the primary solution for students who do not have a car to navigate the campus.
Day by day, Mr. Mugilan found it increasingly difficult to catch the bus on time, often arriving too early or too late. To avoid missing the bus, he typically spends 30-45 minutes waiting in advance, which is a significant inconvenience. He wished for an application that could track bus routes and provide real-time updates on any issues.
Now, when he wants to catch the bus, he opens the application, logs into his UTM account, and navigates to the "Getting Around" section. There, he finds information about bus routes and schedules under the Shuttle Bus Services. He can look up the bus schedule he needs, check which buses are currently available, and track their next scheduled times. This feature allows him to estimate and manage his time more efficiently.
3.2 Persona 2 from the User Group
Persona : Mr. Kishanlal, 24 years old visitor facing troubles with streetlights while driving at night to send and fetch his parents (UTM lecturers).
User goal : Reporting the problem of the streetlight being out of function to ensure the brightness at night.
Task :
- Open the i-Tegur application.
- Uploading photos of broken streetlights and selecting the corresponding address.
- Submitting a report for the incident.
- Look at the receipt and proof of complaint provided by the application and verify the details.
Mr. Kishanlal, a visitor at University Technology Malaysia is always required to travel to and fro between the university campus and home at night to help his parents. However, he faces a major issue while driving every night. Mr Kishan claims certain roads have broken streetlights and certain areas have functioning streetlights that are not switched on during certain hours especially the roads leading to Gate 5. Even with headlights on, the road is just barely visible and it really hinders his driving experience and confidence.
Mr. Kishanlal planned to make a report to inform the authorities about streetlights being out of use causing various areas to be dark and unsafe. He opened the i-Tegur application and uploaded three photos of faulty streetlights as evidence. He then wrote a brief description of the faulty streetlights stating important details like which path it is located on and emphasizing the danger of said problem so immediate action can be taken. After that, he selected the precise location for the faulty streetlights and went through his report one last time before finalizing it and submitting it.
3.3 Persona 3 from the User Group
Persona : Ms. Atiqah bte Shaharuddin, a staff member of UTM is facing difficulties in finding a parking spot around the campus as she teaches at several different faculties.
User goal : Finding an available parking slot easily and viewing the number of available parking spaces still left around the destination that he wants to go.
Task :
- Open the SpotHero application.
- Enter the location and view the available parking spaces.
- Get the number of available parking slots, and view the route towards the destination from the map.
Ms. Atiqah bte Shaharuddin, one of the staff (Lecturer) in University Technology Malaysia (UTM), often faces difficulties in getting a parking spot at a particular time near the destination that she needs to go to. Ms. Atiqah has to go around the university campus from faculty to faculty on a daily basis to guide tertiary students in honing their writing skills. Whether it's crafting research papers, essays, or reports, she ensures that her students develop effective communication abilities. As an IELTS instructor, Ms. Atiqah prepares students for this crucial English language proficiency test to ensure that her students achieve their desired scores. She also tailors English programs specifically for international students, considering their diverse backgrounds and language needs. She found that she often has trouble in finding a proper parking space as sometimes she spends about 20 minutes to find an available parking space, especially in the middle of the week. As we know, it is not easy to get a proper parking space in UTM, and she needs to make a few loops sometimes around that location, moreover, some roads are one-way streets and she could not just simply reverse her car backward where there is an available parking space behind. In addition, In UTM, there are some reserved spaces at particular times that are reserved for the staffs, but the number of staffs’ parking spaces is limited so sometimes she has to park at the students’ parking spots instead.
Ms. Atiqah was trying to solve these issues as she was tired and frustrated of finding available parking spaces. Hence, she is trying to find an application to get the information regarding the parking slots available around the places she wants to go to, as well as the number of parking spaces still vacant around the desired area. By using the application, she can get information on parking slots that are still available around the destination, and the exact number of available parking spaces, thus, she can estimate the time she needs to travel to that place, and consider the possibilities of the parking spaces being parked by other vehicles. Hence, she does not need to take the risk of spending time and energy in trying multiple times to find parking spots.
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